


you treat me like your boyfriend

by kiriya



Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Sex, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Canon, arcade date, kiriemu+parad, more paraemu focused, poly v with implied kiripara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-05-12 17:25:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19233736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiriya/pseuds/kiriya
Summary: emu realizes he has two hands





	you treat me like your boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tradingcardGamer (gnostechnician)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gnostechnician/gifts).



> thank you for requesting the best ot3 in existence. enjoy!
> 
> [fic title](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc-VorgkXGw)

After six months of living together – eight months after their fight with Genmdeus and ten months after dating Emu starts dating Kiriya – Parad and Emu have established a routine.    
  
Parad does most of the chores, which helps Emu in a huge way. It had been so easy let them pile up before, with work and the Bugster Virus demanding all of his energy. Parad’s become more than just a comforting presence and an awesome cook. Parad’s his best friend and Emu loves him deep in a way that satisfies something ancient inside him. 

Parad does need a lot of attention, though. Emu will carry Parad inside him to work him every now and again, even on days he’s not fighting the Bugster virus, because Parad hates being alone when he has long shift. Being a doctor is rewarding but stressful, and it feels  _ good _ , having Parad there with him. It makes him feel calm, full, and loved… even if it’s why Kiriya doesn’t kiss him spontaneously on his breaks anymore. 

On the rare day Emu has off work, they’ll go out – to the arcade, or wander around the city with Poppy and his game case. Sometimes Parad will even tag along on dates with Kiriya, who never seems to mind. He and Parad get along in their own way, even if it mostly involves them bickering.

  
Tonight, though, Parad and Emu are staying in. There’s empty take out boxes in front of them (even if Parad can cook, he was feeling lazy tonight and both of them were craving curry from a place a few streets over), and the room is filled with the tune of the puzzle game they’ve been binging all day.

(Emu has to be careful not to let it turn into another all-nighter, though. He  _ does _ have work in the morning.)

Emu rests his head in Parad’s lap while Parad works through the secret bonus level.

He’s become used to expecting a certain amount of intimacy with Parad. The touches started between them started as comfort, for the nights Parad felt weighed down by all the bad things he’s done, but by now, they’re touching more often than they aren’t. At first, Emu told himself it was for Parad, a way to satisfy his constant need for attention … But a childhood with no company but the virus inside him has made Emu crave physical affection in a deep, visceral way. 

The game warns Parad he has one minute left, and Emu can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of him. “You gonna admit defeat yet?” He asks, the corner of his lip curling into smirking. 

Parad looks down at him and bares his teeth in a grin. The familiar look of challenge glitters in his eyes and Emu feels his heart jump. “As if.”

Emu grins back up at him. It’s moments like this Emu loves, where he feels like a little kid again – fun and giddy and light enough that he might start floating. Parad moving in with him brought its own set of unique challenges at first, but it feels like heaven now that they’ve gotten into the swing of it. It’s so nice to come home to his best friend every day, to just have Parad look at him like he does and feel all the stress he’s accumulated during the day melt away.

Parad locks the right block into the place, and his victory is signalled with triumphant music and colorful lights. 

  
“See?” Parad says, overly proud of himself. His smile is silly and smug. “You should have more faith in my skills.” 

Emu gives him a look. “Uh-huh. Your best time is still waaay behind mine.”

“Not for long.”

Emu scoffs, but it doesn’t get rid of the stretch of a smile across his face. “You’re all talk.”    
  


“You doubt me?” Parad asks, giving Emu his best attempt at puppy dog eyes. As if that will work on him at all. 

“ _ Please _ . I totally invented that look.” Emu narrows his eyes, trying to look unimpressed, but he feels so happy it probably doesn’t come through much. “You’re gonna have to try a lot harder if you want me to take pity on you.” 

“So mean, M,” Parad says, in the fake-wounded way he does when he wants something from him.

“Uh-huh.” It’s an agreement, but it drips sarcasm. Despite his attitude, the sweet way Parad says his old alias settles across his skin in a warm, familiar way. “Get good and maybe that will change.”

Parad gives him an even more ridiculous, exaggerated pout, and Emu can’t help but giggle at his dramatics. He’s still smiling when he sits up to grab his phone, chiming with the finish line sound from Bakusou Bike. 

“Emu,” Parad whines at him. “Don’t check your phone when you’re playing games with me.” 

“Come on, we’ve been hanging out all day. And it could be work.” 

(As if the ringtone didn’t give it away.) 

“It’s just Lazer,” Parad points out. 

Emu just nails him with a look, before checking the screen. It is Kiriya, and the cute yellow heart and checkered flag emoji that follows his contact name.  _ Want me to swing by after work, baby boy? _ , the text reads, and Emu doesn’t need to ask to know the implication that carries. Just reading the pet name makes his stomach feel like candle wax, melting and overly hot. He glances back up at Parad. 

Having a roommate does have  _ one _ downside. 

“Parado,” Emu says. One word, but he says it like a carefully-put question, easy and delicate.

Parad doesn’t read any of the apprehension in his voice, and his eyes brighten at the sound of his name. It’s almost enough for Emu to feel bad for what he’s about to ask. But only almost. “Yes, Emu?”   
  
“... Could you spend the night at Poppy’s tonight?”   
  
Parad makes a face like Emu has somehow insulted him personally. “I don’t want to. Dan Kuroto’s there, and he’s obnoxious.”

Good thing Emu isn’t above begging. He nails Parad with his superior puppy dog eyes. “Please?”   
  
Parad just looks at him. “... Why?”

Emu misses a beat in replying, worrying his bottom lip. The implication of what he’s about to say is obvious enough, “Kiriya wants to come over.”

“To play with us?” 

Emu feels his cheeks gets a little warmer.

It’s not like that’s a naive assumption. Kiriya has before. Even if he doesn’t know anything about video games themselves, he knows them, and is willing and patient enough to referee when they start to bicker. It’s some of Emu’s favorite nights — Kiriya sitting in between Parad and him, arms around the back of the couch, around them. It’s those moments where Emu can really bask in how good his life is right now, in how happy he is to be alive.  
  
Emu hums, mulling the truth over. But he shouldn’t hesitate right? Parad isn’t a little kid, as much as he wants to act like one sometimes. He knows what sex is, and probably more about Emu’s taste and experience in particular that he’s willing to really think about.  
  
“He wants to have sex,” he finally admits.  
  
“... With you?”   
  
“What? Yes, with me.”  
  
“Ew.”   
  
Emu narrows his eyes. Parad can’t get away with acting so innocent about what Kiriya and him do together. Parad’s definitely walked them in various states of fooling around. Emu playfully pushes Parad’s shoulder hoping it will get rid of the sour expression on his face.   
  
“C’mon, Parado, we’re adults… _and_ we’ve shared a body, so we can totally talk about this stuff.”  
  
Parad looks at him the same way he does when Emu calls his favorite fighting game character ‘cheap.’   
  
“Parado,” Emu says carefully. “Are you jealous?”

“Yes,” he replies immediately. “You spend more time with him then you do playing games with me.”    
  
“I thought we were over this.” Parad hasn’t always had a good grasp on how healthy human relationships work, and at one point, definitely thought their connection entitled him to more of Emu’s time than his boyfriend… And as much as Emu loves how it feels like Parado was made for him, there are still  _ some _ boundaries that to be had. “Remember when we talked about space?” 

“Tell Lazer to come over another night,” Parad insists. 

“That doesn’t really make a difference, does it? You’re here every night, and… I don’t think it’s crazy to want my boyfriend to sleepover sometimes.”

“You spent all last week at Lazer’s place, Emu.” The ‘ _ and not with me _ ’ goes unspoken, but Emu hears it clearly. “Aren’t you tired of having sex?” Parad asks.

Emu laughs. “That’s  _ so  _ not how it works.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Parad reminds him with a pout. “You waited until med school to have fun with boys.” 

“Sorry,” Emu says, and he means it. Literally every encounter that Parad probably remembers from their teenage years was awkward at best and mortifying at worse. “Please go see Poppy? She’d be really happy to see you! I promise to give more of a heads up next time I want Kiriya to spend the night.” 

“Fine,” Parad agrees. “But I get to be Player 1 tomorrow.” 

A smile splits Emu’s face. “Of course.” He leans over to place a hand on Parad’s arm and give him a grateful kiss on the cheek. He feels Parad’s cheeks stretch into a smile beneath his lips. “I had a really fun day with you, Parado. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Emu. More than anything.” 

Emu’s cheeks nearly hurt from smiling. He resists the urge to touch his chest, the place where he feels his connection to Parad the most acutely, before he gets an idea. A smirk pulls his lip in one corner.    
  
“Kiriya’s probably not gonna be here for another hour, so … Versus mode?”   
  
Parad hands him the second controller and grins. “If you’re that eager to lose to me tonight.”    
  


  
  


Emu struggles to fall asleep that night. 

He sleeps better with someone else in bed with him (Parad, usually), but even with the comforting weight of Kiriya’s chest against his back, Emu’s mind can’t seem to quiet itself. 

It’s persistent throughout the day. He’s distracted and off-task, earning himself a reprimand from one of the senior nurses that makes him feel like an intern again, and all day, the megawatt smile he reserves for patients and their parents drains his battery faster than normal. 

It’s times like these where Emu has to remind himself that Parad is trying his best. He isn’t human, which means always can’t expect normal human behavior from him...Parad has some separation anxiety, understandably. So does Emu, after watching Parad die right in front of him on not one, not two, but  _ three _ separate occasions. It wasn’t that long ago  _ Emu  _ was the one insisting Parad come along on most (if not all) of Emu and Kiriya’s dates, and he’s grateful for Kiriya’s seamlessly endless patience. 

Emu’s thankful to spend time with him when his break finally comes. Cuddled together on the couch of CR, the weight of Kiriya’s arm around him is something intimate and familiar, something that’s made him feel safe since the beginning. Kiriya has an open book in his lap, some academic thing about decay rates, and a mug of coffee in the hand he’s not holding Emu with.  
  
“What’s on your mind, babe?” Kiriya asks softly, but it feels loud in the quiet of CR. Asuna has the day-off, and without the urgency of a case or any of Poppy’s bubbliness, the room is so still. Kiriya rubs his thumb in easy circles along Emu’s shoulder, helping him feel calm and serene.    
  
Emu sighs, weary but not without fondness. He’s easy to read, at least to Kiriya, who knows him better than almost anyone else. He lifts a hand to affectionately curl it around his boyfriend’s bicep.

“Nothing,” Emu whispers. “It’s just  _ — _ I feel kinda bad, kicking Parado out last night. It’s his apartment, too.” 

Even if Emu pays for the rent and the internet, it wouldn’t feel right to dominate the space when Emu is the one who invited him to live there in the first place.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Kiriya assures him, running a soothing hand across the small of his back. “You two will make up. You always do.”

“It wasn’t a fight… I just. Wasn’t really fair to him, I just hate feeling like I need to split my time between the two of you.”  Emu pouts. It was definitely worse before. Parad still whines for Emu’s attention at times, but doesn’t posture as much or go out of his way to antagonize Kiriya. Like the time the three of them went to the carnival together and Parad grabbed Emu’s right hand the same instance Kiriya grabbed his left, and the once Parad offered the cook for both of them, but made Kiriya’s food way more spicy. The two of them _ still  _ jump at the chance to antagonize each other, but now it’s out of familiarity (and what Emu likes to believe is affection).    
  
“I don’t know.” He sighs, and huffs a quick laugh. “It kinda feels like I have two boyfriends sometimes.”

Emu looks back up at Kiriya. He always has some amount of mischief glittering in his eyes and a quip on the tip of his tongue, but Emu doesn’t see any of those reassuring qualities. Emu hasn’t seen Kiriya look so serious, like he’s holding something back, in a long time and it’s worrying.   
  
Emu loosens his fingers around Kiriya’s arm. “Is something wrong?”

“Emu,” Kiriya says, in a seldom serious tone that makes Emu squirm. “Can I be honest with you?”    
  


 “Of course. I would never want you to lie to me, Kiriya,” Emu assures him. “You know that.” 

Kiriya closes the medical text in his lap, and looks at him for a long moment, searching for something, while Emu’s chest ties itself into anxious knots. It’s like he needs to know Emu’s  _ ready _ for whatever he’s about to say.

“You, me, and Parado,” He says finally. “Parado and you... It’s not a normal relationship, you know that, right?” 

Emu bites his lip. “Yes, but... Parado’s not human. He’s my bugster, and it’s complicated...”   
  
“I’m just sayin’. The way he looks at you, the way you guys touch...”    
  
“I understand,” Emu replies. Not a long of boyfriends would be okay with how close he and Parad are. Honestly, Emu’s spent a long time bracing himself for this, but Kiriya has just never seemed to mind before. Emu never thought anything of it. Kiriya’s naturally a laid back guy;  he didn’t even mind the time  _ he _ kissed Parad, once, when he thought it was Emu. “I love you, Kiriya. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll talk to him.”

“I love you, too, Emu. I know you and Parado are close.”    
  
“Of course.”    
  
“Yeah, babe, but I don’t mean. Like. Best friends or roommates or ‘brothers.’ I mean like, you two are obviously head over heels for each other.”

Emu bolts up like lightning and looks at Kiriya like he’s an oncoming car. The suddenness of the movement nearly spills Kiriya’s coffee, but he has fast reflexes to counteract Emu being a disaster magnet and steadies the mug before any drops spills over the brim. 

“Kiriya — No, we’re not —” 

“Emu, sweetheart,” Kiriya gives him one of those knowing looks, and Emu feels everything inside himself wither. “I’ve spent enough time with the two of you to know. The way you look at each other… You two got that thing, you know? Your hearts are bound, or whatever,” Kiriya smiles at him, all dimples and dazzling white teeth, and it feels like Emu’s heart is about split from pressure. “Hard to compete with that.”   


Emu feels like he’s about to cry, “Are you breaking up with me?”   
  
“What? No. I’d  —” Whatever he’s about to say, it dies in his throat.  _ I’d never do that? _ Emu hopes so, because he wants to spend the rest of his life with Kiriya. Kiriya reaches out to touch his face, stroking an easy thumb over his cheek, and Emu leans into it. “You’re still my angel. I love you more than words can say, and Parad’s important to you. That means he’s important to me too. And if you two want to date — or whatever it is you can call it between you two —  I’m more than fine with it.”    
  
Emu reaches out to touch him too, but stops half way there, hesitant. “Are you sure, Kiriya? I love you so much, and I don’t,”  _ I don’t want to lose you again _ , he wants to say, but doesn’t. They’re all trying to move past the trauma and death. Finally. “I don’t want to be unfair.” He settles on instead. That’s what he reasoned with himself, before, when romantic thoughts about wanting to kiss Parad’s smiling face bubbled up unbidden. 

“I’m sure. Don’t tell bug boy I said this, because I’ll never hear the end of it, but I think you two are cute together.” __

That, finally, makes Emu smile a little. “No wonder you’ve been so patient,” He murmurs, and Kiriya grins at him. A familiar, easy sight that uncoils everything inside that was wound so tight.

“I told myself I wasn’t gonna say anything and let the two of you figure it out, but… I don’t know, I hate seeing you beat yourself up over it.” 

“Honestly, this is a lot to process right now.”  

Emu thought he was set up to live happily ever after with Kiriya forever, until said man shifted his world view just slightly... It seemed like the perfect, well-wrapped ending to everything they've been through together. Emu finally got to tell Kiriya all the things he never got to before their time was cruelly cut short, and he was finally with Parad like he was always meant to be. Best friends, not bitter enemies. 

Those were the things Emu wanted.  Something he’d spent his entire life chasing, hoping it would chase away the emptiness he was sure he was born with. Friendship, intimacy, love. Sex. He has that now, he’s full and content, but Emu still wants more, doesn’t he? There have been moments when he’s thought about it, just briefly. Touching Parad, feeling him -- more than he already does -- rolling around in bed with him and sharing happy kisses, if he were allowed to. 

But he never would be, because he’s with Kiriya and Emu would never to anything to compromise that.   
  
(Except Kiriya’s telling him it wouldn’t. The idea is a little overwhelming.)    
  
Kiriya squeezes his shoulder, and Emu instantly feels the tension roll off him. “I always got your back, ace. If and when you want to talk about it.”    
  
Emu doesn’t quite giggle, but almost. “Weird. Talk about my maybe crush on my best friend with my boyfriend?”    
  
“He’s been growing on me lately, you know,” Kiriya says, a fond, wistful look in his eye. “Like a virus does.” He grins at Emu again, and the handsome sight of his dimples makes Emu feel so incredibly in love. “He better kiss my ass for being this generous.”   
  
“I seriously doubt that,” Emu replies, skeptic,  before resting back into Kiriya’s shoulder and staring thoughtfully at a panel in the white ceiling. The idea of touching Parad … Kissing him, really kissing him, outside of a faraway fantasy that‘ll melt him if he tries to reach for it, makes Emu more than a little nervous. “Do you really think this is going to work, Kiriya?”

“Hey. We saved the world together, and I wasn’t even there for half of it. So, there’s no way we can’t figure this thing with the three of us out.”

Emu sighs and reaches out to take Kiriya’s hand in his. “Yeah, you’re right.”    
  
“I can’t believe you thought I’d break up with you, though,” Kiriya murmurs, taking a super pointed sip of his coffee. 

Emu slaps his shoulder, and Kiriya laughs, giddy and light. “I panicked!” 

  
  
  
  


Emu doesn’t immediately decide he has a crush on Parad after his conversation with Kiriya, but the more he contemplates Kiriya’s words over the next week, the stupider he feels. And the more Emu examines his and Parad’s relationship, the more Emu sees how close it verges on  _ already _ being boyfriends. The easy touches, sharing a bed together, even the brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kisses they’ve shared… it’s all very relationship like. All that’s missing from their relationship is sex (Emu thinks about doing that with Parad _ a lot  _ now, especially when he pouts at him with his pretty mouth and gives Emu those adorable wide eyed looks), and the fact they don’t really go out on dates. 

With time, Emu dares to think saying he has a  _ crush _ on Parad may even be putting it lightly. He loves Parad, has for a while now, and Emu can see that now, with Kiriya adjusting his lense just so. And Emu tells Parad everyday,  _ I love you _ , but never in the way he means to. 

Over the next few weeks, Emu tries to confess to Parad, but every time, the words coagulate on his tongue. Emu’s never quite sure what the right words to say are, especially when he thinks about explaining he still wants to date Kiriya too. Even after reading twenty articles on polyamory (some in different languages, translated through the search engine he used).

And admittedly, Emu’s so happy with his life right now, with Parad and Kiriya both by this side, happy, healthy and alive. Emu’s scared to upset the status quo, to get tongue-tied and say the word that will shatter this amazing life they have together. 

(That’s probably why it took so long for Emu to realize his romantic feelings for Parad in the first place. Fear, and the simple fact that he has no basis for how close a human-bugster relationship should be)

“You’re overthinking this,” Kiriya, who finds the notion that there’s even a slight chance Parad doesn’t like him back ridiculous, tells him. “Why don’t you just do something special for him to express how you feel?”

“I don’t know. I feel like just talking to him about it is a better idea…”   
  
“Parado’s better at cheesy metaphors than he is talking about his feelings,” Kiriya rebutts, which makes Emu smile. Kiriya’s such an attentive boyfriend to Emu, so he knows Parad almost as well as he knows him, and Emu loves him for that. Kiriya gives a shrug. “And romantic gestures always work well on you.”

Emu remembers a picnic Kiriya made for him on the roof of the hospital one particularly stressful week, and spontaneous beach trips, and meeting his parents, and all the other surprises Kiriya’s planned when he felt words could never express just how much Emu means to him... 

So Emu decides to take Parad on a date. 

Emu borrows Kiriya’s bike to take them to the arcade (an achievement in it of itself, because there was a time before they were dating when Kiriya was hesitant to even let Emu ride it with him). Emu doesn’t take them to the one in their usual neighborhood, and instead drives them out two hours into the suburbs, to the neighborhood where they both grew up. 

“Do you remember this place?” Emu asks, pulling off his helmet. He gives Parad an appreciative look while he swings one of his long legs off the bike. Emu insisted he change since they’re going to a less busy area (not that he told him where exactly that was), and he looks good in the loose pants and dark sweater.

“Duh,” Parad replies, looking at him like he’s silly. “We used to come here all the time as a kid.”

“Mm. It’s not as nice as arcade in the city, but I thought it’d be nice? Nostalgic, and,” Emu reaches to loop one of his fingers around Parad’s, a familiar, easy intimacy that immediately lifts the corners of Parad’s lips. “We can’t always stick to the stuff we know, can we? We have to try new things.”

“Why didn’t you invite Poppy to come with us? She had the day off today too.”

“I want to spend some time together, just us. Is that okay?”

Parad beams at him, loving and warm, before wrapping his hand around Emu’s palm. “Of course it is, Emu.”

“Do you remember this?”

Emu leans elbow against the edge of an old Pacman machine. This arcade has been in the neighborhood since the 80’s and the machine is probably older than he is. Emu used to daydream about buying one of his own just like it as a kid, but has never had the space for one, even if he more than has the money.  

“Of course I do,” Parad replies, before a smile breaks out on his face. “Remember when we pantsed some stupid highschool boy for playing too long?”

Emu makes a sound half-way between a laugh and a snort. He tries to glare at Parad, but it barely comes through. “ _ You _ did that.”

Parad acts like he doesn’t hear him, but Emu sees the corner of his lip move into a smirk. Not at all subtle. Parad steps forward to wrap his hand around the red joystick and nostalgia in his eyes shines as he gives the machine an appreciative look.    
  
“You don’t think our high score is still on here, do you?” 

“No way. They’ve probably reset it after all these years, but,” Emu takes his coin case out of his back pocket and bends down to insert some into the slot. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Parad steps aside to let Emu take the other side of the console. “Co-op mode? We’ll destroy our old high score, now that we have four hands instead of two. ” 

  
Emu smirks and takes the other joystick. Blue. “For sure, Parado.” 

Parad’s face breaks out in a grin. “I like when you get serious, M.”. 

Emu smiles. He likes when Parad gets focused too, loves the mix of focus and joy in his eyes and his stupidly wide smile he gets. And gaming together always make Emu feel so full, so complete. Even if they get loud and competitive and squabble like kids, it feels just right. Like Parad really is his other half.  

Emu grins. “We’re gonna make our past self eat it.” 

(Emu’s only a little off-task when they play, losing his last life in one of the instances he ignores the game just to glance at Parad’s wide, stupid smile.)

 

  
  


 

 

“Hey, do you want to do the photo booth?” Emu asks, five video games and one round of basketball later. “It’s brand new, and it’s super cute! It has all of the new LINE characters on it.”

“No way. That’d be such a waste of our coins, Emu.”

“I’m a _doctor_ now, Parado _._ We’re not scrapping an arcade fund from in between the couch cushions anymore. I’ll just get more change when we run out.”

“I don’t know. That’s time that could be spent gaming, and there’s a line forming at the new Dangerous Zombie machine...” 

“We’re not in a hurry! And it’ll be memories,” Emu urges him. He hits him with his puppy dog eyes, just a little. It literally always works, on both Kiriya and Parado. “C’mon, for me?” 

Emu can see Parad attempting to fight the twist to lips, but he can’t. Got ‘em.

“Okay, for you,” he concedes. “But we’re doing the Sanrio one. It’s classic and way cuter.” 

 

 

 

Emu and Parad’s thighs touch in the cramped space of the photo booth. It’s not anything Emu unused to -- it happens when they game at home -- but lately, Emu’s been more hyper-aware of every touch between them, and it makes his heart feel like warm mush. 

Emu picks the frame, since Parad got to pick the booth. He chooses Kuromi and Melody. They’re just like Parad and Emu in a way, and the frame is the frame is half-black, half-pink, and very glittery. Emu insists that Parad sit on Kuromi’s side -- Emu _ has _ to be Melody, she’s the pink one! -- and Parad calls him a baby.

The lights in the booth dim slowly, and a bright countdown appears on the screen in front of them in their place. Parad and Emu tilt their heads together and smile wide for the first photo, and make funny faces with Emu’s arms slung around Parad’s neck for the second and third. For the last take, Parad’s fingers slide under Emu’s chin -- Emu’s stomach tightens in anticipation, Parad’s fingers are so sexy and long -- and Parad leans forward to press a gentle kiss to Emu’s cheek. He holds it there through the flash going off. 

When the lights go out, Parad pulls back. Excitement and fondness shine on his face, making Emu’s face feel hot and pink __.  
  
“It’s my turn to pick something now, Emu. Let’s do Engine Turbo.”

Emu forgets to speak for a few moments. The phantom touch of Parad’s kiss lingers on his face. Emu feels nothing but the warmth rising in his cheeks before finally remembering himself.   
  
A smile that twists his lips, and Emu gives Parad that look, like he knows he’s up to something. “Engine Turbo 2 is better, but whatever. You’re not going to do to me what you did to Kiriya, are you?”

(Last time they played that game was on an arcade date with Kiriya, Parad tagged on along with them, and at the end of the third lap, Parad grabbed Kiriya’s wheel and jerked it to the side to keep him from winning.)   
  
Parad’s face is totally unrepentant. “You have to fight dirty to sometimes, Emu. Besides, Lazer had it coming to him.”

Emu half-scoffs, half-laughs, and gives Parad a skeptical look. “For what? Actually almost beating you at something?”

“That’s not true. He was being annoying and making bad jokes the whole time.” Parado’s pout is  _ so _ cute. “Close matches are always more exciting, you know that.”

“Do I? Because I think a round of Genm Versus Nintendo will change your mind.”

  
  
  


Emu eyes the giant Burgermon plushie in Parad’s arms warily as they’re leaving. He told Parad to pick whatever he wanted, but didn’t have the foresight to think of how they’re actually gonna get it  _ back  _ to their apartment.

Parad playfully bumps his shoulder as they’re leaving the arcade.    
  
“You’re being so nice to me today, Emu,” he says, a little smirk on his lips.

Emu’s light on his feet, and Parad thankfully doesn’t get him with enough force to knock him over. He rubs the spot on his arm Parad hit. “I’m always this nice,” he mutters.

“Yeah right, M.” Parad scoffs, but he’s still smiling wilde and bright. “You gave me all your tickets, and you _ totally _ let me win that fancy new rhythm game they bought... What’s put you in such a good mood?”

“Nothing,” Emu insists. 

“I could just read your mind and find out.”

“You wouldn’t,” Emu tells him with a suspicious look (but Parad had done so  _ once  _ without asking before, to try and find out what his last card was while they were playing a board game with Poppy). 

“No, but you can’t hide things from me either way.” Parad reminds him.  _ Do you think that ice cream place is still down the street is still open?,  _ says through the connection that links them together.  __  
  
Emu huffs. “Hm, I don’t know. I haven’t been back here since med school... Want to go find out?”

Parad grins like the devil. “No, but I’ll race you.”

 

  
  
  


Parad ends up teleporting in front of the shop before Emu can get there. Stupid unfair, and Emu calls him a cheater before Parad grins at him and tells him to “get good.” He hates having his own words flipped back on him, and Parad is so good at it, it’s annoying. He just knows him too well. 

“I can’t believe they had all the same flavors,” Parad tells him on their walk back to the bike. The street is quiet and empty; everyone is at work or in school. Or maybe it just feels that way to Emu because he’s so used to the city now.  

“I know, right?” Emu spares Parad a glance, and,  “There’s some ice cream on your bottom lip. Do you want a napkin?” 

“Just get it for me, Emu.”

“Mm, okay. Bend down.”

Parad does just so, leaning down to Emu’s height. Emu rests his hand on Parad’s cheek, and rubs his thumb over his bottom lip. So full and dark pink. Supple, and his mouth is such a pretty shape… The half of Emu’s heart that’s always ached for Parad’s, even when he didn’t even know he existed, suddenly feels incredibly raw. 

Emu licks his lips just slightly, and his gaze flicks from Parad’s mouth to his eyes, half-lidded while waiting for Emu to finish. His eyelashes are so dark. Emu’s pulse feels quicker, and he gets the sudden feeling that a window is closing on him. This is an opening, and if Emu doesn’t find the nerve to kiss Parad now, he never, ever will. Emu closes his eyes and tilts his chin to press his lips to Parad’s, his hand still a steady, tender weight against the bugster’s cheek. The kiss is more than a peck; it’s something long, steady, and slow. Parad’s lips are so soft, kinda sticky from the ice cream, but Emu can taste its sweetness and the kiss is undeniably romantic. 

“Emu,” Parado murmurs a moment he pulls away. His expression is seldom serious, and his gaze is soft and searching, eyes dark. “Why did you do that?”

Emu pulls his hand from Parad’s face and his heart sinks. “I  — Was that a mistake?” 

“Yes,” Parad replies. “I’m trying my best to be good, and Lazer is my friend. P lease don’t cheat on him, Emu.” 

“What? Parado, that’s not what I’m doing.” 

“But you kissed me.” 

“Kiriya encouraged me to.”

“What? Why would Lazer do that?” 

Emu bites the inside of his cheek. Emu  _ knew  _ he should have talked about it with him instead of going the romantic gesture route. He’s been dating Kiriya for so long, some parts of him have rubbed off. 

“Parado,” Emu says, dropping his voice to the tone where Parad knows he’s serious. “Because Kiriya knows … I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Parad replies. So soft. Completely earnest. He reaches forward to wrap his fingers around Emu’s. “You’re my heart.”

Emu tries not to squirm. Parad has such a nice voice, and the words feel like someone is pumping warm honey through his veins. Emu tilts his head down and slowly laces their fingers together. 

“But when I say I love you, I mean it as more than just friends, or like we’re connected. I mean, I love you like I love Kiriya. Not exactly the same, but as in… I want you to be my boyfriend.”

Parad stares at him for a few long seconds, blank, like his brain is going into reboot mode.

“That’s ridiculous, Emu,” Parad finally replies. 

“I thought so too at first, but… Is it really? You don’t want to do all the things Kiriya does with me? Spend more time with me, just us? Hold hands? Kiss me?” 

Parad squeezes his fingers. “We already do those things.” 

Emu presses his lips into a thin line. He understands why Kiriya was so frustrated with the both of them now. 

“And you like doing all those things with me?”

“Of course I do.” 

“Then we can keep doing them. And if you were my boyfriend, we can do more stuff like this. We could go on dates like this one, and I could kiss you after too, and ... Even have sex, if you’re up to it.”

“What about Lazer?” 

“He’d still be my boyfriend, too.” 

“You can do that?”

“Sometimes. Not always. It’s not something everyone would do, or accept. It takes work, and lots of communication, but it can be done,” Emu explains. “You don’t have to say yes, Parado. Obviously. It won’t change anything between us. I’m sorry for kissing you without talking about this with you first; I just… wanted you to know how I felt about you, and that… I want to make this work with three of us, if you’re interested.”

The play of emotions is obvious on Parad’s face, making Emu’s stomach twist up in knots. Emu can see him rearranging all the puzzle pieces in his head. One moment stretches into two, then three. It’s only a handful of seconds Parad doesn’t say anything, but in Emu’s head, it feels like hours. 

“Okay,” Parad says finally. 

Emu raises his brow. "You mean ... Yes?"  
  
"Yes."   
  
“Really?" He says, his voice small and disbelieving. "You can take more time to think about it if you need.”

"No. I want to be with you, Emu, in every way I can. I like being able to touch you, and I like spending time with you like this, and if I said I hadn’t thought about kissing you like that before, that'd be a lie. But you told me our relationship was different from you and Lazer's, so I tried to stop thinking about it that way."

"I’m sorry, Parado. The idea of loving two people at once is almost as new to me as it is to you, so I spent a long time denying how I really felt about you, and .. We can talk a little bit more about that last part. It’s different now. We have to figure out how we work, in a new way, with Kiriya here too."

"I have a question about that.”

Emu leans up on his toes to kiss him on the cheek, just briefly. Because there’s nothing stopping him from doing so.

 “Of course,” he assures him. “Anything.” 

“Can Lazer I kiss too?”

The statement catches Emu off guard. He opens his mouth to respond, doesn’t say anything, then giggles. “Again? I don’t know about that,” he mutters, but a smile stretches his face. He can’t tell from Parad’s expression if just curious, or legitimately interested, but that’s  _ definitely _ a conversation he wants to have. 

(But another time.)

Emu squeezes down on Parad’s hand, and tilts his chin up. “You can start by kissing me.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kiriya blocks out five days in November to go on vacation. The three of them, together. He pulls some in some favors around the hospital to get them both the days off, tries his best to make it a surprise, but Asuna spoils it when she asks about the gap in Emu’s schedule in the fall. 

“How about… Florida?” Kiriya suggests. 

Emu gives him a skeptical look. “In the fall?”

“It’ll be less crowded.” 

“That’s lame, Kiriya,” Parad interjects. He has a lot of opinions, for someone who’s Switch looks more important to him then the conversation. “You know Margaritaville isn’t a real place, right?”

“Take that back.”

“Make me.” There’s a very real edge of challenge in Parad’s voice makes Emu want to fall through the cracks of the floor. “If we go to America, we should go somewhere more fun, like New York.” 

Emu hums to himself, considering the idea. “Nico went to Los Angeles last June and had a fun time.”

Kiriya kicks Parad’s shin under the table. “Shut up, brat. You’re just gonna say inside and play video games all day. Let’s go to Hawaii.”

“Am not. You only want to go tropical places, so _ you  _ shut up.” 

“Can you two behave yourselves for like five seconds?” Emu asks, without any real malice. Kiriya and Parad have their own way of getting along, jumping around line between fighting and flirting, and it’s as annoying as it is cute.“What about Greece? It has cool architecture, and lots of beaches ...” 

Kiriya smiles, showing off his adorable dimples and bright white teeth. “There’s an idea.”

Emu turns to his other boyfriend, an excited gleam in his eye. “Parado?”

Parad gives him a considering look for one, maybe two, moments, then looks pointedly back at his Switch.  “I can’t swim.” 

Kiriya grins like a shark. “Oh, so that’s what this is about?” 

“I guess that’s true,” Emu muses, thinking about all the pools and beach trips he avoided as a kid, and lessons he signed up for in med school with a cute instructor who had nice hands. “I didn’t learn until college...”

Emu feels Kiriya nudging Parad’s foot under the sensitive, uneven table. “I’ll teach you.”

There’s a pause, with just the chime of Parad’s game. Parad looks at Kiriya, his face blank but his eyes look considering, and Kiriya smiles that smile, that’s equally sharp and fond. Expressions Emu both knows well, and his annoyance, though mild, instantly melt and become something fond and warm. As much as they bicker, they really do care about each other, in the end. 

Emu raises his brow at them. “So ... Greece?” 

Parad and Kiriya exchange a look and nod at him. “Greece.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> my favorite ship dynamic is dumbasses who don't realize they're already married. catch me at kiriparaemu central, aka my twitter @ kaijinrights
> 
> sorry there wasn't a lot of kiriya in this fic. i wrote another kiriparaemu fic from kiriya's perspective for this exchange, so please go check that out too!


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